Psalm 30

1 I give you all the credit, God— you got me out of that mess,
you didn’t let my foes gloat.

2 God, my God, I yelled for help
and you put me together.

3 God, you pulled me out of the grave,
gave me another chance at life
when I was down-and-out.

4 All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God!
Thank him to his face!

5 He gets angry once in a while, but across
a lifetime there is only love.
The nights of crying your eyes out
give way to days of laughter.

6 When things were going great
I crowed, “I’ve got it made.

7 I’m God’s favorite.
He made me king of the mountain.”
Then you looked the other way
and I fell to pieces.

8 I called out to you, God;
I laid my case before you:

9 “Can you sell me for a profit when I’m dead?
auction me off at a cemetery yard sale?
When I’m ‘dust to dust’ my songs
and stories of you won’t sell.

10 So listen! and be kind!
Help me out of this!”

11 You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band
and decked me with wildflowers.

12 I’m about to burst with song;
I can’t keep quiet about you.
God, my God,
I can’t thank you enough.
A David psalm

Psalm 31

1 I run to you, God; I run for dear life. Don’t let me down!
Take me seriously this time!

2 Get down on my level and listen,
and please—no procrastination!
Your granite cave a hiding place,
your high cliff aerie a place of safety.

3 You’re my cave to hide in,
my cliff to climb.
Be my safe leader,
be my true mountain guide.

4 Free me from hidden traps;
I want to hide in you.

5 I’ve put my life in your hands.
You won’t drop me,
you’ll never let me down.

6 I hate all this silly religion,
but you, God, I trust.

7 I’m leaping and singing in the circle of your love;
you saw my pain,
you disarmed my tormentors,

8 You didn’t leave me in their clutches
but gave me room to breathe.

9 Be kind to me, God—
I’m in deep, deep trouble again.
I’ve cried my eyes out;
I feel hollow inside.

10 My life leaks away, groan by groan;
my years fade out in sighs.
My troubles have worn me out,
turned my bones to powder.

11 To my enemies I’m a monster;
I’m ridiculed by the neighbors.
My friends are horrified;
they cross the street to avoid me.

12 They want to blot me from memory,
forget me like a corpse in a grave,
discard me like a broken dish in the trash.

13 The street-talk gossip has me
“criminally insane”!
Behind locked doors they plot
how to ruin me for good.

14 Desperate, I throw myself on you:
you are my God!

15 Hour by hour I place my days in your hand,
safe from the hands out to get me.

16 Warm me, your servant, with a smile;
save me because you love me.

17 Don’t embarrass me by not showing up;
I’ve given you plenty of notice.
Embarrass the wicked, stand them up,
leave them stupidly shaking their heads
as they drift down to hell.

18 Gag those loudmouthed liars
who heckle me, your follower,
with jeers and catcalls.

19 What a stack of blessing you have piled up
for those who worship you,
Ready and waiting for all who run to you
to escape an unkind world.

20 You hide them safely away
from the opposition.
As you slam the door on those oily, mocking faces,
you silence the poisonous gossip.

21 Blessed God!
His love is the wonder of the world.
Trapped by a siege,

22 I panicked.
“Out of sight, out of mind,” I said.
But you heard me say it,
you heard and listened.

23 Love God, all you saints;
God takes care of all who stay close to him,
But he pays back in full
those arrogant enough to go it alone.

24 Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up.
Expect God to get here soon.
A David psalm

Psalm 32

1 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start,
your slate’s wiped clean.

2 Count yourself lucky—
God holds nothing against you
and you’re holding nothing back from him.

3 When I kept it all inside,
my bones turned to powder,
my words became daylong groans.

4 The pressure never let up;
all the juices of my life dried up.

5 Then I let it all out;
I said, “I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to God.”
Suddenly the pressure was gone—
my guilt dissolved,
my sin disappeared.

6 These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
we’ll be on high ground, untouched.

7 God’s my island hideaway,
keeps danger far from the shore,
throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

8 Let me give you some good advice;
I’m looking you in the eye
and giving it to you straight:

9 “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule
that needs bit and bridle
to stay on track.”

10 God-defiers are always in trouble;
God-affirmers find themselves loved
every time they turn around.

11 Celebrate God.
Sing together—everyone!
All you honest hearts, raise the roof!